2004.01.11 - Revolver Magazine - Shoot To Thrill

VELVET REVOLVER, featuring ex-Guns N' Roses members and STP's Scott Weiland, start making tracks.

Despite vocalist Scott Weiland's recent return to six months of court-ordered, lockdown rehab, Velvet Revolver - the buzz band uniting Weiland with Guns N' Roses alumni Slash (guitar), Duff McKagan (bass), and Matt Sorum (drums), plus guitarist Dave Kushner (ex-Suicidal Tendencies) - are close to completing their untitled debut, slated for a March release. The group is rehearsing at Weiland's plush, Moroccan-themed facility in Burbank, California (the singer is allowed out for short periods to work on the album), while tracking is taking place at Hollywood's Pulse Studios, with Josh Abraham (Staind, Orgy) at the controls. Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Slayer) will mix the disc.

Although the album is littered with G n' R and STP signatures, it's no nostalgia trip - and it's certainly not "Guns N' Pilots." Weiland credits Kushner for keeping the new band sounding fresh: "Dave is really into sonic treatments. He brings an element that's ever-changing, new, refreshing. Add that to full-throttle, no-holds-barred, grain-alcohol-fueled rock and roll and you kinda have what we're about."

The bulk of the disc is as aggressive as the band's single, "Set Me Free," which was first heard on the Hulk and Italian Job soundtracks. "Fall to Pieces" is an epic ballad with monster hooks, and "Slither" is an ominous midtempo track featuring a classic G n' R groove, touches of Rhodes piano, and Weiland sounding more like a rock god than ever.

The band adamantly denies accusations that the venture is a cynical business move to cash in on past glories. VR are no one-off project ("We signed a three-record deal!" says Kushner, laughing), and, despite all the stars involved, democracy prevails. "There's no dictators," says Slash.

"I don't feel like a rich rock star that's formed a supergroup," says Weiland. "I feel like an 18-year-old forming my first garage band. It's like a gang, and that's what I needed."

-PAUL ROGERS

https://web.archive.org/web/20050208011810/http://belowempty.com/vr/articles/2004/040111_Revolver_Magazine.php